We left our week of luxury in the Sofitels ( our Luxury Escapes treat) and headed off on an expedition north, to the temple of Preah Vihear. This is on the border of Cambodia and Thailand, in disputed territory, but it currently belongs to Cambodia.
We hired a car and driver from a small travel agency. On the day, the man who did our booking arrived to come along for the ride, and help out with English. His English was limited, the drivers was worse.
We had difficulty the day before convincing them we wanted a 2 day trip, rather than a very long one day trip. But, we persevered and finally got the message through. We also said we would like to visit some interesting things along the way.
Our first stop was at Ta Mok's house in Anlong Veng. Definitely a sight to be missed.
"Pol Pot’s military enforcer, Ta Mok, was responsible for thousands of deaths in successive purges during the terrible years of Democratic Kampuchea. Widely known as ‘the Butcher’, he was arrested in 1999 and died in July 2006 in a Phnom Penh hospital, awaiting trial for genocide and crimes against humanity.
Ta Mok’s house is a spartan structure with a bunker in the basement and childish wall murals. It lies east of town on swampy Ta Mok’s Lake, festooned with the skeletons of dead trees – a fitting monument to the devastation he and his movement left behind. In the middle of the lake, due east from the house, is a small brick structure, an outhouse and all that remains of Pol Pot’s residence in Anlong Veng."
I didnt bother to take any photos.
After lunch we took a "shortcut" to Preah Vihear temple. How 50km of dirt road after heavy rain was a shortcut compared to 80km of bitumen, we are not sure. At the base of the hill, we paid $10 each to visit the temple, and $25 for a short ride up a very steep hill, and arrived at the temple.
The temple is aligned north south on the escarpment with views over Cambodia and Thailand. You get a ride most of the way, then start with views over Thailand and head slowly uphill to the final building with views over Cambodia
The first building
Path leading down to Thailand
Path leading uphill
At the top
We had a wonderful visit to the Preah Vihear temple.
We stayed overnight in a motel in the middle of nowhere, and had surprisingly good meals, even though most of the time we had 3 girls standing about a metre from the table watching us eat.
On the way home (on the bitumen this time) we visited Koh Ker, a Hindu temple. It was very impressive.
It is now safe to visit because they have cleared the landmines nearby, but stay on the marked pathways.
Although quite overgrown, it was great.
Our final stop was at Beng Melea, which is very very overgrown. I think the jungle has won there
An excellent 2 days
